How does a wife help her husband be the man Christ wants him to be? How can she inspire him to love her? How can she discover the forgotten joys of being the helper God designed her to be? Beginning March 1, Victoria, beloved wife to Geoffrey Botkin, will host weekly online mentoring sessions for women as a homemaker's resource to the worldwide Christian community. Mother to five boys and two girls, Victoria draws insight from 30 years of applying Scripture to marriage with one of America's most visionary men.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

With my husband at work this weekend, I am keeping the home fires burning. My two right hand women are away today - one with her Grandfather at a horse expo, and one spending part of the day with a friend who just lost her Grandmother.

I have been busy, but in a relaxed way, not rushing around. I made breakfast, tidied the kitchen, cleaned the bathroom. I have been knitting and finally finished a short scarf.

I have worked on it off and on for quite a while now and am glad to get it finished!

A week ago I knitted this wee hat in pink for my yet in the womb granddaughter. I know that she will be born in June, but newborns often have trouble regulating their body temperature and so they put little hats on them. It is so cute and if they don't use it Rachel and Sarah can have it for their dolls!

When I finish this post, I will be headed into Kyle's room to move the furniture around - he is asking for his bed to be next to his train table. Hmmm, I am thinking he is wanting to be able to lay in bed and play with Thomas and his friends, but I have a few other ideas!

It snowed this morning, but now there is patchy blue sky outside! So thankful for this! I have been grateful for the days of less rushing around. More time in my home. I love my home - I love to make it warm and welcoming for my family. Tonight when Tim returns home after a 12 hour day away, he will come home to a clean and tidy home, children ready for bed - all freshly bathed, smelling good with their hair combed or braided - soft lighting, a chapter or two in Little House On The Prairie...He will be welcomed by a wife who is delighted to see him, and children who have missed their daddy all day. He will be bringing Emily home with him, stopping to pick her up from her friends home. Lindsay will be coming home this evening too, brought by her Grandpa who loves her enough to spend the day with her at the horse expo! We will be filled with happiness to be together once again. It may seem silly but these simple things are a delight to me.

These simple home chores can get boring and bog you down, if you let your focus get off the joy of serving others and get onto your self...I know, I've done it plenty of times! But the Lord keeps renewing my focus and teaching me to be a servant to all...

Tomorrow will be church...I missed last week and may need to miss again depending on my little guys' cold. It has progressed, and is getting better, but he may not be ready yet to go. He will be so unhappy - he loves to see his good friends there! I like to see my friends there too and to hear the Word preached, but I know that God can meet me in my living room as well as at church. He is so good.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Duggar Family's show on TLC? We don't watch much tv and we don't get TLC, but whenever we get a chance to watch it at my parents house, we take it!

Last night Tim and I were on a grocery shopping date, and were looking through the book and dvd's at Target...guess what I found? Season two of the Duggars' show for $12.99! My kids were so excited when I showed it to them last night. The little girls are downstairs watching right now.

They are a sweet family, not perfect, not little Stepford clones of any kind. A real family who loves the Lord and wants to honor Him. They are raising their family to do the same.

Their 19th child was born approximately 3 months early when Michelle developed pre-enclampsia and they needed to deliver the baby at 25 weeks. Baby Josie is doing well from all reports, keeping breast milk down and has doubled her weight. Usually preemie's go home around the time of their original due date, Josie's due date was mid March, so she should be able to go home soon!

I would love to know them in real life. Until that happens we will just watch their dvds and be happy to see on tv something our family can relate to not be afraid of what the content will be!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Last night I was poking around art.com and was struck by the paintings that reminded me of my daughters.

This one reminds me of Lindsay - gentle, womanly, one who knows how to wield a sword! She is a young woman who is strong in her convictions, she is noble in her goals, and is content as a daughter at home.

The artist of this painting has captured the beauty that comes from the inside, from strong and noble character. She is feminine without being delicate. She reminds me of my Emily. This young woman is capable, as is my Emma. She is able to do hard work and yet is gentle. That's my girl.

I love this painting! It shows the care and watchfulness of an older sister - I see this trait in my daughters. They are loving sisters. They do annoy one another at times, but their hearts are bonded to each other. Actually not only with their sisters but with their brothers as well - even though one of them is older than all of them!

This one is a younger sister. She is helping by rolling the yarn into a ball. She probably is learning to sew and knit as well. This is the goal I have for my girls. To be skilled in home keeping things, such as sewing, cooking, knitting, running a household. This girl reminds me of my Sarah, she would wear an outfit like this!

This reminds me of my girls - especially Emily - who will grab her knitting and work with her hands while we read or watch a movie. This young woman in this painting is womanly and feminine and yet dressed for work! And she is barefoot which is how we like to be around her much of the time, so I thought it was fitting to include it.

The girls and women in our family are not delicate, incapable of hard work kind of gals. We do work hard, and like to do outdoor kinds of things, as well as look pretty and also have tea parties! I like to think that we have a good balance.

My friend Becky did a post recently that mentioned being intentional in parenting and in wifehood. If you are raising children, what kinds of things do you do to be purposeful in your discipleship of your children? If your children are raised what kinds of things did you do and what are you up to with grandkids? Are you single? Did you know you can prepare for your future as wives and mothers? I'd love to hear the things you are doing to encourage your daughters toward their futures!

All art from www.art.com - click on the paintings to find out more information about them.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Life can be hard; a young wife is missing her husband who has entered military training, a courtship ends, a young girl has brain cancer...the list could go on and on, and it's not all major things like cancer or other kinds of illness. Sometimes it is finances, rebellious kids, or dealing with difficult people.

But our God and His Word stand true. They don't change with the seasons...God doesn't get moody...or anxious...or unsure.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

This is a photo of our barn on Christmas day...it looks nearly the same now, only more snow on the ground and none on the roof! While the snow is lovely to look at and makes for fun playing for the kids, it makes everyday work much more difficult.

For instance, our barn is across our small creek, a ways from the house. When we need to load the barn with hay, we pull off the road and back up to the barn and load it in. With two feet of snow still on the ground, this is impossible to do. So today, Lindsay and Emily are shoveling a space off the road where the truck can pull and then they will need to make a path from there to the barn door. Tim is helping them. If we had a blower we could use that to do it much quicker, but the snow blower is my Dad's and they are 20 minutes away...by the time we went there and back the job could be done by shoveling. So they shovel.

Tim and I went this morning to pick up his truck - he had to have the windshield replaced, and while out we went to breakfast. We then went to a local feed store (different than the one we normally go to) to get grain for the horses. We had a nice talk with the owner about what feed to use for our aging horses. I love using a local place that care to know their customers. Plus they have some basic hardware items that we use regularly here on our property. This makes it convenient to make one stop for us, when these things are needed.

Tim also needs to do a pre inspection inspection of his truck, for things like brakes, which if there is a need he can replace before the inspection. He then wants to go help chop wood for family friends of ours whose Dad is helping the Dad from Hospitality Lane work on their car. I love to see the Body of Christ helping each other.

At our Bible Study last night, we were studying about Abraham believing God. He believed the promise that God gave him even to the point of sacrificing his son. He knew that "God Himself will provide the sacrifice." Read Genesis 22 for more about this. I pray that my faith would be as strong as Abraham's - to believe God's Promises, regardless of what the circumstances may be.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Psalm 19:14 is on my heart "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

Friday, February 19, 2010

The last week, our dog vomited on my living room area rug. It was so disgusting. Just ask Lindsay, she'll tell you! Eeew!

Anyhow, the rug in the living room was actually the rug I used to have in my bedroom. When Tim made our wonderful, gigantic dining table, I had to use the matching red rugs that used to be in the living room and under the old table. Then I moved my bedroom rug into the living room. Following me?

I have needed a rug in my bedroom and now I need one for the living room. We have all wide plank pine flooring throughout the whole house, so we use area rugs to anchor seating areas and to soften the hard surfaces.

I like these.

I found these on line at Target.com. I like a traditional rug, or a solid. It best suits my style and allows me to change things up without having to replace everything! Huge bonus for my budget!

These are probably out of my price range, but I will use these as inspiration.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

I was at the website for Dr.Tea, looking for written information about the differences between white, green, black and oolong teas. While there I came across an article he wrote about tea. It was filled with easy instructions for brewing tea, which I already knew or thought I did. Several of the steps went counter to what I had been taught.

The first thing was that you should not let the water get to the boiling point. I have always let it boil first, then pour it over the tea. That is how I was taught. The second thing was that you should pour your milk, if you put it in your tea, into the cup before you pour the tea, so it doesn't curdle in tea. I was taught that is why you put it in after you pour your tea!

I decided to try it out. I put cold water in my kettle, I warmed my pot and put the tea leaves in. This step allows the tea to warm and the leaves to open up. I watched the water and caught it just before it boiled. After letting it step for about 2 minutes with the teapot lid off, I put milk in my warm cup and poured in my tea.

You know what? It worked really well. I wouldn't say that it tasted much different than how I usually do it, but it tastes really good, and I am enjoying a morning cup of tea!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Did any of you watch the new BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma? Jane Austen wrote of the character of Emma Woodhouse "I have created a character no one but myself will much like."

At times this is very true - she frustrates me, just as Scarlett O'Hara frustrates me, but that is a story for another time!

I like this version of Emma though it is not very true to the actually words that Miss Austen wrote. The actors are good in their roles - I now truly despise Mr. Frank Churchill!

Emma and Mr.George Knightley. Mr. Knightley's brother John is married to Emma's sister Isabella.

Miss Bates. You feel deeply for this vicar's daughter who lives in gentle poverty. She and her mother live by the care of others, including Mr.Knightley and Mr. Woodhouse.

Emma's protege', Harriet Smith.

Another thing I liked about this miniseries is that it showed Isabella and John's family. Here Mr. Knightley was visiting John and Isabella and the children are playing and running around. They weren't invisible as they are in other adaptations of Emma.

If you haven't read the book - I encourage you to do so, especially if you have only seen the movies of Emma. Did you know there have been four movies of Emma? One done in 1972, two done in the year of 1996, and this one done in 2009. The two 1996 versions we refer to as "the one with Gwyneth Paltrow", which we love, and the one with the "grumpy Emma, " which we don't like as well. That Mr.Knightley is certainly not someone anyone would fall for...he is grumpy too!

Have you seen any of these? Which is your favorite? We bought the dvd at Costco and it has all sorts of fun extras like costuming the characters, and locations! We know have all 4 versions of Emma!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

I can tell I haven't been writing in my journal much these days...the last entry before today was January 30th...I use this journal to jot down my thoughts about what is going on in my life, as well as prayer requests, to do lists, ideas.

I cut up old magazines for the photos - I am drawn to gardens, interiors, storage ideas - all the things that are a part of my daily life. I often just comment on the ideas sparked by a photo.

This journal is not an original idea, I have seen it many different places. But it is a help to me to remember not just for today, but for years from now. I love going back and seeing answers to prayer, all the blessings, struggles, hospitality.

Here are some blank pages just waiting for me to write on them.

Sometimes I just put photos of things that I love together. When I am long gone to my eternal reward, my great grandkids can look at these pages and think "Great grandma was crazy!"

Monday, February 15, 2010

I used to, especially for church. No, I didn't grow up in a formal church, hey, I grew up in So. Cal after all! I wore them because I loved them. My interest in hats started when I became interested in the British Royal Family. My great-great grandmother had been a seamstress for the ladies in waiting at Buckingham Palace before she came to the United States, so that made me interested. Also what girl doesn't wish to be a princess at some point in her life? Then about the time I graduated from high school Lady Diana Spencer came on the scene. She was a 19 year old preschool teacher and I was an 18 year old preschool teacher! She was young and had her own style. I liked how she dressed. She took the royal hat a new direction.

I started to collect hats to wear. I had a cute red hat that I wore with my red dress with white polka dots, and cute red flats with bows! Come on, it was the 1980's! I had a royal blue hat, black felt, white straw, regular straw, grey wool felt. Now my little girls play with them.

www.victoriantradingco.com

Aren't these hats cute? They remind me of a hat that my blogging friend Tracy crocheted for herself! Check it out here.

www.allposters.com

I got away from hats, when I realized that most people thought it was weird, or that I was some sort of stuck up person. I went years without wearing a hat.

I have more recently begun to wear hats again. I received the Jane Eyre hat from the Victorian Trading Company, for my birthday. I love it. There are a few more I have my eye on as well from their catalogue. I also need to find a nice straw hat for summer.

www.victoriantradingco.com

I find that most women are more comfortable in baseball caps or a visor, than a regular hat. I wonder why? For me when I wear a hat, it makes me feel feminine. I like being a woman, and how I dress affects that for me. When we had our annual tea at church this past fall, one of our ladies, brought her hat collection so everyone could wear one. The ladies loved it and they looked great! Even my Mom who thinks she can’t wear hats, found the right kind for her face shape! It was so fun!

Have you also noticed how many women dress exactly like their husband or boyfriend? I so often see women who have on the same pants, shoes, sports team shirt or rock band tee, similar hair and piercings. Why do you think this is?

Woman are special and unique from men – equal in worth – but different. I mean would we women want our guys to start wearing skirts or dresses? Unless it is a Scottish kilt, of course!

Sorry to get off track there a bit but as the Pennsylvania Dutch saying goes “It wonders me.”

www.allposters.com

I like hats for many reasons. They are cute, they are great for bad hair days ( who would know?), they look nice, they are fun to wear – my daughter’s friend has a lot of cute ones and she looks great in them! Hats are not just for old ladies or Red Hat clubs!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Valentine's Day is an anniversary day for us. This year it is the 23rd anniversary of our first kiss.

We didn't know then about saving your first kiss for your wedding day, or we wouldn't have this particular anniversary. However it is sweet to us, and I am sure we will celebrate it with a few more kisses for good measure!

We had a lovely time at the Civil War Ball. The caller was very good teaching everyone the dances. The girls danced a few times, but really were interested in watching. We found that many of the dance steps are familiar since we do some English Country Dancing. We also were happy to see such good interaction between everyone who was there. So now maybe we will have to make a few dresses?

www.allposters.com

Today I will be puttering around my house, working on some treats for tomorrow, and guiding my family. My husband and I are taking Lindsay and Emily to a Civil War Ball this evening. They don't have gowns from that era, but not everyone dresses formally. They were going to perhaps wear their Regency dresses but may just wear regular dresses. They know dances that are similar to those from the Civil War era, so they should have fun.

Tim is working on clearing the driveway - he is using my Dad's snowblower. The snow is so piled up everywhere. Some roads that drift badly are single lane, you must use caution when driving! The majority of roads are perfectly clear and dry. I truly hope that we don't have a quick warm up which would melt the snow quickly! Our property can get pretty muddy in certain areas and that would make a huge mess, especially down where we want to put our raised beds.

Lindsay and I have been compiling a list of seeds to purchase for our garden. We are planning to get seeds from Heirloom Seeds. It is important to us to purchase non hybrid or genetically modified seeds, so that we can save seeds from year to year. Typically the seed packets you buy at stores like Target are hybrids or genetically modified and cannot reproduce themselves from their seeds, they are sterile.

I have been watching a movie on Netflix called "Food, Inc." It is scary and eye opening. I hope to finish it today hopefully!

Did I mention we are considering getting some chickens? Our friends at Laurel Hill Farms, gave us some wonderful eggs from their Rhode Island Reds. They were great. Also Rhode Island Reds are a dual purpose chicken, meaning you can not only eat the eggs, but they are good meat chickens.

Who knew a girl from Southern California would end up being a homesteading type! It just proves to me that God has a sense of humor!

Friday, February 12, 2010

I came across these sweet paperdolls before Christmas, when I found a blog written by one of the two sisters who are the designers. Since then I have seen them offered for sale at Vision Forum and raved about on other blogs.

Today Jasmine Baucham is hosting a give away of these beautiful paperdolls. My girls would love them! If you have daughters who love to play with paperdolls you may want to head over to Jasmine's great blog Joyfully At Home to enter!

To see one of the girls who would love these paperdolls, don't miss the post I did below this one!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Tim made it home safely! The girls shoveled the driveway when they knew he was on the way home - it had a foot of snow or more on it since the early morning hours when Tim shoveled it so he could go to work!

We had homemade pizza for dinner - it was so good. To see more of what the girls have been up to check out Emily's blog - A Fresh Perspective. Becky, Chelsea is just fine - really!

Snow, Snow and more snow...nearly two feet today!

The girls were out early in the day working on their igloo...When the wind picked up they came in!

This is the snow on the deck -some of it is from the weekend but there were two paths on the deck - one to the rail and one to the deck stairs, both got filled up!

Soon my picket fence and lamppost will disappear!

The mailbox and stop sign are being buried as well - though much of it is from the plowing!

Right now the township who are great with our roads, haven't been by to plow in hours! The girls who are out shoveling the driveway say they don't know how Tim will get down our road....he may need to park up at the top of the road and walk down, in about a foot of snow on the road!

I just heard an interview with a representative from Penndot saying that the foot of snow we have is the mild part of the storm..."the snow overnight was only coming down about 1/2 inch an hour." They expect that to pick up greatly today as we get up to another foot or more.

Add to that the winds are coming this afternoon, and will blow the snow that is falling as well as the snow on the ground creating blizzard conditions!

Amazing! The five day forecast is showing snow for Monday as well. This is not usual for us here. When you don't have to go anywhere it is fine, not too much trouble. Although taking the dogs out and feeding the horses can get tricky! Fortunately for me my 'Girl in Nature' handles these things.

To really enjoy this storm, the girls have their good pal Chelsea, from Hospitality Lane, here to be snowed in with them. So far they have made bread and brownies, both of which will be gone early today, so I for see more baking on the horizon. We had a great spaghetti dinner last night, the girls made a short movie - a favorite passtime - we had family Bible study, clean up and then while the little ones and Tim and I headed for bed, the three older girls went downstairs to enjoy a movie together. I do not know what time they went to bed - but I am letting them sleep in!

I got up early this morning and put Tim's lunch together. He did some shoveling of the driveway. He also made sure to pack extra things in the car, in case he needs them, as he will be coming home in blizzard like conditions. He called a few minutes ago to let me know he got to work safely. He leaves early in weather like this so that he can drive slowly...a 25 minute trip normally took him an hour today. I am so thankful for his skilled driving and for the protection God provides.

Now I have begun the discussion of whether we will cancel co-op for tomorrow. I believe we will and am leaning toward doing it early rather than wait until the last minute.

We have finished 'Little House In The Big Woods', and have started on 'Little House On The Prairie.' What fun to read these again, and to read them aloud to my youngest children. They are filled with so much information about daily life for these pioneers. I had these books as a girl, but a certain child of mine, who shall remain nameless, went through a stage at about 2 years old of tearing books apart - starting with tearing the covers and more off of my Little House Books! She then got interested in reading this series when she was much older, so I had been trying to buy the hardback books for her. On day at Goodwill we found the whole series in paper back for .25 cents a book!

Another author I have started to read again is Grace Livingston Hill. Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse got me interested in reading them again. She has a blog that is filled with quotes from GLH books. It is called "Neat and Dainty as a Flower." They are writing by a Christian woman in the 1930's and they are filled with talk of daily home life and Christian living. Nothing inappropriate here! I went to a Mennonite Book Store the other day that sells used homeschool curriculum and books, as well as new books, teacher supplies etc...I found several GLH books for less than $5.00 a piece. One bought in paperback version was $1.50!

I recently read "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." I thought it was very good. I love history and felt that this book taught be an aspect of WWII history, that I was not familiar with. It has a bit of swearing, just a few words here and there, and it is pretty graphic with descriptions of what life was like under Nazi occupation, so I wouldn't recommend it to younger readers, but your upper teens and up would be fine with this book.

Monday, February 8, 2010

I am known as a mother, daughter, wife, leader of a homeschool co-op, Christian, home educator.

But does anyone really know me?

I am a "knower" of people. I am interested in people and can remember things about them. I love to use this knowledge when buying gifts for someone - I love to give them something that I "know" is them, that they will love. I do this to show my care and affection for someone.

Over the years I have studied my husband to learn about him. What kinds of things does he like? What kinds of things express love and care to him? What does he like to eat? Knowing these things help me be a better wife to him. One thing he likes is for me to come and hang out with him when he is working on a project, like changing the oil in the car, or chopping wood. He likes my company. If I hadn't studied to know him, I would never have thought that my sitting with him would me anything to him!

I know my children. I have studied them all their lives. I know what will make them happy, or sad. I know what they would be excited over. I use this knowledge to guide them, teach them, love them.

But does anyone really know me?

1 Corinthians 8:3 says " But if anyone loves God, he is known by God." This is encouraging to me. God cares to know me. God knows that I love to read, and to make things for my family. He knows that I am insecure in some areas of my life, and that I hurt when being misunderstood. He knows that I desire to walk with Him, and have my children do the same, to honor Him in our family life and to have it passed down multigenerationally.

Do we take the time to let people know we are thinking of them? All people love to know that they are cared about, that they are known. I am going to make a confession here. Often I feel as if I do all the "knowing" and that I don't get that "being known" in return. I spent the last three days at home due to the snow. I received one phone call during those three days and that was to tell me that church was cancelled!

I encourage you all to know the people in your life and to let them know you care! It is so important, and just may make someone's day!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

It started to snow yesterday sometime after 3:00pm. For a great deal of the time it was tiny flakes, it seemed like maybe the storm wouldn't give us as much snow as they were calling for.

It continued to snow, but it wasn't really laying on the roads when my husband came home.

I made potato cheese soup for dinner, with a nice green salad and garlic bread, while it continued to snow.

Tim, Lindsay, and Kyle took the truck to go and get hay. They got stuck by our gate and used the van to pull the truck out. Still the snow came down...We had family devotions, read, watched a video and went to bed. By then the snow was about a foot deep.

We woke to a winter wonderland...buried cars in the driveway, the barn doors have snow piled up around them...and it is still snowing. It is hard to tell just how much we have because around 11:00 pm it started to get windy and is supposed to blow and drift today...Tim goes in to work today at noon until midnight.. I am praying for clear roads for him. It is supposed to continue to snow until this afternoon.

We will have a fire burning in the wood stove all day and night and will probably do some sewing. I am thankful for our power lines being buried. We rarely lose our electricity, if we do we have our wood stove for warmth and some Coleman lanterns for light when it gets dark. Other than having Tim have to go to work, it is shaping up to be a lovely day.